The Adirondacks - A History of America's First Wilderness by Paul Schneider

Paul Schneider must have been confronted with so many sources and stories at the outset of his volume that made it far harder then my choice after only ten minutes of side stepping the bored Dad's perusing the aisle his book was in. While almost selecting the political tract about the Park, my eye was drawn to the lush blue lake on the cover and what looks like two hikers from the twenties or thirties at a High Peak. Less then a month later I actually finished his book and can't wait to go back up after Labor Day when the place clears out for the season, knowing what I know now. A medley of characters places and events mark this volume as a must read to anybody whose ever been to New York's premier destination. Screw the City.

Aside from a traditional recount of the important white guys who did everything, Mr. Schneider captures the essence of the people throughout the modern eras. His time with modern trappers, loggers and bureaucrats capture the sense of urgency for anybody involved in the Park. Initially sought as a farming area after the strategic significance of the French and Revolutionary Wars, lumber and mining interests drove the Park after the attempt to cultivate a place with only 10 percent of its land arable. Mining was sort of disaster at first with many tragic elements. The descriptions of the old facilities as they sit or stand now was a pretty neat journalistic trick.
The historical portrayal of notables like Sir William Johnson and John Brown were real page turners. I've seen the signs just outside Lake Placid to John Brown's house and always thought it was the John Brown involved in the early 19th Century, not the infamous abolitionist. The tragic story of Mr. Henderson and his death in front of his eleven year old son was a real gut wrencher for any tough guy. It seems like there were at least half a dozen fellows who spawned the model for Fenimore's Natty Bumppo. Roger's Rangers, famous guides, French Aristocracy's designs and numerous other affairs and plans sets up a lot of good story telling.

I would still like know why places like Pottersville are called what they are. Where the summer camps were located and who went there. Famous painters, philosophers and robber barons are all very interesting. Knowing the issues and their implications of the future is very important too. Beating them to death is certainly something another volume must do. Fortunately this effort doesn't digress too much into any of these arenas without qualifications and genuine purpose. The real gems are the conversations with loggers like John Courtney and trappers like Toby Edwards. Each offer a unique perspective on the lives they have chosen in this region. Death & Taxes and the Price of Otter in China are two of the best chapters in the book.

Having told a number of people who frequent the Park about this book. I wish that I could give this book to one of them with assurance that it would be read and passed along. I'm sure this is the exact feeling of those with intimate knowledge and time in this vast area. A little bit of everything and everybody is covered in a well told story that spans centuries. I've yet to find the haunting image of Thomas Cole's Course of Empire. I'm sure that when I do it will serve as a guidepost to all that man is and will be in relation to the massive presence of nature in relation to the foibles of man. Certainly the small amount of time left to me on this planet will afford numerous jaunts to some of the treasures scattered about the six million acres that serves as model to the notion, forever wild.